A bank worker who murdered his wife and burned her body after she threatened to expose his homosexuality has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years.

Jasvir Ginday stared down at the floor as he was told his decision to throttle Varkha Rani and set fire to her remains in a home incinerator in his back garden was "unbelievably casual and callous".

He carried out the crime just months after they tied the knot to cover up his homosexuality, which his 24-year-old bride had been threatening to reveal to friends and family.

Judge John Warner told Ginday, who had no previous convictions, that his behaviour towards his wife before the killing had been a "fundamental deception" of a vulnerable woman living thousands of miles away from her home country.

"It was a very cruel situation in which you put her," he said.

Jasvir Ginday and Varkha Rani on their wedding day

"You have told lie after lie about a number of matters such that it is impossible to rely on anything you say.

"I am satisfied that you intended to kill - you are a devious, controlling man and a meticulous planner in a number of aspects of your life."

A jury of seven women and five men took around 17 hours to find him guilty of murder after a three-week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Ginday initially told police that his Indian wife had packed her bags and walked out on him following a row at their home in Victory Lane, Walsall, West Midlands.

The 29-year-old claimed throughout his trial that he had accidentally killed Ms Rani while restraining her with a vacuum cleaner hose.

But the jury believed the prosecution's case that the Royal Bank of Scotland employee had planned the killing of his wife, who had only been in the country for about a month.

Ginday had confided to a friend in 2008 that he was attracted to men but that he could not tell his family as his mother was very strict.

It later emerged that he was frequenting gay bars and having relationships with men around the time of his engagement to Ms Rani in 2012.

The following year, after his new wife arrived from India, the pair moved into a house with his parents.

Ginday's back garden and the incinerator in which Ms Rani's body was burnt

The court heard that on the morning of the crime, on September 12, he was caught on camera filling a two-litre bottle with petrol at a service station.

Later that day, while the rest of the family were out, Ginday claimed that his wife had attacked him and run off with £500.

The family told police who, the following day, carried out a full search of the house and garden where they found the incinerator which was still emitting smoke.

A police officer lifted the lid off the metal bin to discover the gruesome remains of a human skull.

An unburned black plastic bin liner was found partially covering her body.

Her cousin Sunil Kumar said: "No words can truly express the sadness and hurt my family and I are experiencing at the loss of Varkha, she was loved dearly by all, she had a great passion for life and doted on her family.

"Varkha attained a masters degree and was driven to make her life a success, unfortunately she fell prey to Ginday who had ulterior motives which Varkha would not have appreciated."

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Sarbjit Johal said: "Ginday got married as a matter of convenience - he tricked a poor innocent girl into marriage but was living a lie.

"When she uncovered the truth he could not live with it and killed her quickly then tried to dispose of her body and her possessions by burning them.

"Had another day passed before police attended, Ginday may well have successfully removed all traces of Varkha.

"I hope that this verdict brings some comfort to Varkha's family who have travelled from India to see justice is brought for their daughter."